That God,
by an eternal, unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the
foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race
of men, to save in Christ, for Christ's sake, and through Christ, those
who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his Son
Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith an obedience of faith, through
this grace, even to the end; and, on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible
and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn them as alienate
from Christ, according to the word of the gospel in John iii. 36: 'He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of god abideth on him,' and according
to other passages of Scripture also.

Article
II.

That,
agreeable thereto, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, died for all
men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death
on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins, yet that no one actually
enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer, according to the word
of the Gospel of John iii. 16: 'God so love the world that he gave his
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.' And in the First Epistle of John ii. 2: 'And he
is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.'

Article
III.

That man
has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will, inasmuch
as he, in the state of apostasy and sin, can of and by himself neither
think, will, nor do any thing that is truly good (such as saving Faith
eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ,
through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or
will, and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think,
will, and effect what is truly good, according to the Word of Christ, John
xv. 5: 'Without me ye can do nothing.'

Article
IV.

That this
grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of all good,
even to this extent, that the regenerate man himself, without prevenient
or assisting, awakening, following and co-operative grace, can neither
think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that
all good deeds or movements, that can be conceived, must be ascribed to
the grace of God in Christ. But as respects the mode of the operation of
this grace, it is not irresistible, inasmuch as it is written concerning
many, that they have resisted the Holy Ghost. Acts vii., and elsewhere
in many places.

Article
V.

That those
who are incorporated into Christ by a true faith, and have thereby become
partakers of his life-giving Spirit, have thereby full power to strive
against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory;
it being well understood that it is ever through the assisting grace of
the Holy Ghost; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in
all temptations, extends to them his hand, and if only they are ready for
the conflict, and desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from
falling, so that they, by no craft or power of Satan, can be misled nor
plucked out of Christ's hands, according to the Word of Christ, John x.28:
'Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.' But whether they are
capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginnings of
their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of
turning away from the holy doctrine which was delivered them, or losing
a good conscience, of becoming devoid of grace, that must be more particularly
determined out of the Holy Scriptures, before we ourselves can teach it
with the full persuasion of our minds.